speed

regularman

New Member
So what is the fastest anybody here has had their C14 up to? I use a small GPS(garmin etrex) to check my speed. It remembers the max speed and at one point last year I had 7.9mph(which I'm sure is nowhere near the best I could have gotten, but my wife don't like sailing all hiked out with the leeward gunnel in the water). I would imagine with some good ocean winds a C14 would whip along pretty good.
 
I don't know how fast I was going, but on the occasions when I had my Capri 14.2 hydroplaning it had to faster than 10 knots. It was throwing up a rooster tail!

And your Capri can hydroplane, too. You need flat water (i.e., not far from the windward shore) and at least 17-18 knots of wind. Put her on a broad reach and sit back somewhat so as to take the weight off the bow. (NOT all the way back.) Hike out like crazy - enough to keep her flat, and go, baby go...
 
Speed Postscript

Oh, and you can't be too heavy. I think a total crew weight of 300 lbs is about the maximum. When we did it the two of us were probably at about 260.
 
I think we once had mine started on a plane, but it was before I bought the little GPS. We were on a broad reach and the wind built up from what it was and all of a sudden was like we changed gears and we were hauling butt. Then the wind built a little more and we attempted a jibe and had a near capsize. Thats another question. Does everybody recommend sailing the boat level all the time? I mean I list it a little to leeward in really light winds, but when there is plenty of wind I always try to keep it level. I see a lot of race photos where people have there boats heeled over. When mine starts to heel I either hike out some more or ease the sheets to right her again. I would think they would be easier to steer and have the best speed with her level or very close to it.
 
I've never had mine of a plane, but I've been pretty close to it and I can imagine what it must be like. The problem is that I usually sail single handed, so I don't have sufficient weight to keep it flat unless I am in a very broad reach.

I find it very hard to steer the boat when it is heeled over, although mine often is becasuse I'm alone. I prefer to sail the boat flat when I can.
 
First time out today with gusty conditions so I was not overly brave. 7.1 mph with the main reefed in and jib furled a bit.
 
Reefing is nice, I like to feel in control of the boat. Larry I would have done the same. Besides its a lot easier to shake a reef out when you are away from the dock than it is to try and put it in when you realize you are overcanvassed. Next time the wind is higher I want to try downwind under full sails and then try to pull the reef in right before a tack back into the wind and see how that works.
 
Heel angle

Here's the story on heel angle. Basically the Capri likes to be sailed flat. To be exact, I prefer going to weather with about a 5 deg heel angle -- it seems to fall into a natural groove at that angle. Same thing on a reach.

However, in light conditions, say less than 5 knots of breeze, it will point higher (5-10 deg) if you deliberately heel it to leeward. In a drifter (2 knots or less) heel the bejeebus out of it. This will reduce the wetted surface and gravity holds the sails in a nice rounded shape.

Downwind, heel it to weather. This reduces the wetted surface and holds the main up higher where the breeze is stronger. To keep the boom from flopping down my crew sits back with one foot pushing up on the vang. That's dedication. But, hey, she's a better sailor than I am anyway.

Cruising sailors, just keep it flat and enjoy the sail.
 
While I have never turned mine over I have seen a couple(not c14s) other boats capsize and both times they were sailing single handed and were already listed to leeward quite a bit. I would think that if you are already listed that way that the balancing force is lessened because you can't lean out as far, plus your reaction time is lessened because you don't have as far to go before capsizing.
 
Speed, then wet

Well, I took up the speed challenge in heavy wind this weekend. She lept up on plane in a broad reach. Felt like 12 knots at least, based on 40 years of boating experience. A real thrill.

A few minutes later, a neophyte jibe gave me the chance to try my Capri anti-turtle sail float. The mast and skipper hit the water almost instantly. Now I understand why a boat could turn turtle so easily. The float was great. I had the boat back up in no more than 30 seconds. Gettting in took longer. The tiller is not the best item to grab for pulling oneself in. You may steer the boat to - shall we say - a more difficult position. Try some of the other tricks in this forum.

Unfortunatley, I forgot all about the GPS stuff to justify the speed record claim. Darn, now I have another excuse to go sailing.
 
Same here Larry , I seem to make my best speed when I forget to turn the GPS on;) I still have a capzise yet to deal with. I have been lucky.
 

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